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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. row — a line
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. prune — to trim
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. staff — a stick
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. staff — employees
  13. bat — the animal
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. wind — moving air
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com